The government has submitted a draft law to the State Duma restricting the participation of State Unitary Enterprises (SUEs) and Municipal Unitary Enterprise (MUEs) in concessions in the housing and utilities sector. The draft law also sets new requirements for investors in this area. In particular, future concessionaires will be required to confirm their experience in the utilities sector and provide a deposit of up to five percent of the estimated cost. Experts note that the changes will produce more reliable concessionaires but will limit new companies from accessing projects. However, the housing and utilities sector is already not very attractive for investors.
Arina Dovzhenko, a Partner and Head of the Real Estate & Construction Practice at Nordic Star Law Offices, commented for Kommersant newspaper on whether the new requirements are logical and what they might affect.
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